What matters is the value we’ve created in our lives, the people we’ve made happy and how much we’ve grown as people.

Rather than becoming discouraged, know that encountering a wall is proof of the progress that you have made so far.

But I think we need to remember that democracy everywhere is by its nature incomplete, a work in progress.

Life is painful. It has thorns, like the stem of a rose. Culture and art are the roses that bloom on the stem. The flower is yourself, your humanity. Art is the liberation of the humanity inside yourself.

Victory lies in not getting defeated.

Within the heart of every person exists the flame of wisdom that transforms all suffering into kindling for the fire of creative energy.

There is no true joy in a life lived closed up in the little shell of the self. When you take one step to reach out to people, when you meet with others and share their thoughts and sufferings, infinite compassion and wisdom well up within your heart. Your life is transformed.